BR area home sales show gain over ’08
Print
Email
Save
Reprints
Twitter
Share
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Baton Rouge-area Realtors sold 38.1 percent more homes last month than in November 2008, although the jump is attributable primarily to the sales slump that followed Hurricane Gustav.
Realtors sold 576 homes in November, compared to 417 a year earlier. Sales were higher in each area. Livingston Parish recorded the biggest percentage increase with 145 homes sold, nearly double the 76 sold a year earlier.
Darren James, president of the Livingston Parish Board of Realtors, said the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit of $8,000, which was to end Nov. 30 before Congress extended the program, spurred sales.
“I would say that the majority of our sales are first-time homebuyers,” James said.
The program’s expansion to people who have owned a home five of the last eight years — that credit is worth $6,500 — also opens up possibilities for the future, James said.
Realtors sold 307 homes in East Baton Rouge Parish, versus 232 a year earlier. In Ascension Parish, Realtors sold 90 homes in November, compared to 76 a year earlier.
The average sale price was about the only figure that did not improve for November. The average sale price for the metro area slipped to $179,271.82, down 3.4 percent from $185,622.37.
Despite November’s results, area home sales still trail 2008 figures. During the first 11 months of 2008, Realtors sold 6,879 homes, 3.9 percent more than the 6,608 sold for during the first 11 months of 2009.
Click "Report Abuse" to notify our moderators that a comment may contain objectionable content.
Your comment appears to contain objectionable content and must be reviewed by a site moderator. If your comment is deemed objectionable, it will not appear on the site.
 | ||||
| Most Popular | Most Emailed | Hot Topics | ||
